Monthly Archives: March 2016

Top fat burning workouts
When losing weight for a fight it’s important to challenge your body so it loses body fat healthily and efficiently . All bodies are different, so you may need to experiment yourself to find what works best for you.

In my experience I know there are three things that help me lose weight. These are running, spinning, and martial arts.

Yesterday I got the opportunity to try a spin class at psycle in central London. It made me realise what a great activity spinning can be for weight loss. The music keeps you motivated, the instructor keeps you engaged and the class around you keeps you encouraged. When an activity makes you forget the time, it’s more likely to work for you. I currently teach spin at gymbox and have noticed a difference to how trim I am since taking it up.

The Same goes for martial arts. In boxing or wrestling I have to focus on the moves and combinations , so less thought is spent thinking about how tired I’m getting. A great class for beginners in martial arts in fight klub. Being an instructor of this class shows me how my participants focus and deliver up to the very last punch, and then they collapse exhausted at the end. My encouragement , the music motivating and the classmates enthusiasm makes this class a great fat burner.

Lastly it’s the running. It’s a great fat burner but it can be the least popular activity. What can get you through it? Well gyms may have running clubs that mean you can run with other people to keep you motivated. Gymbox has started running club where you can run together on the streets of London. Making a great playlist, setting running goals and picking a good location will help motivate you into running that extra mile. Apps like run keeper are also good for setting goals and keeping progress.

With Summer on the way, the time is now to start burning the fat and feeling good. ☀️

I was inspired to write this article as every morning I see something that raises my eyebrow. Today it was a fully grown adult man, chomping away at a whole tube of Pringles at 6 in the morning. One of my biggest hates is first thing in the morning,the smell of someone sitting next to me with a boost energy drink. It blows my mind that intelligent humans treat their bodies in this way. I can only come to the conclusion that it must be because of laziness. All the items I see commuters consume that are negative are usually fast food. It’s become my new favourite tube entertainment, trying to spot the sneaky commuter tucking into their breakfast of dinner, or how many red bulls and boosts will I see this morning? Maybe they can justify it because they claim they are in too much of a rush to eat any better . I rarely get on an evening tube after training and don’t find myself opposite an overworked city boy/girl dipping into their brown bag of mcshite. Admittedly it does smell amazing , but shit can be covered with oust so I’m sure mcdonalds have fragranced their food tactically. So why do these tubers chose mcdonalds and Pringles instead of a healthier take away option? It’s expensive? The worry it won’t be filling enough? You don’t get a free toy with a quinoa salad from m&s? Whatever the reason , in a moment of hunger, we make bad choices. I’ve been there. There have been times I’ve been so hungry on the go I’ve grabbed a snickers from the corner shop. But this sort of behaviour was never acceptable during a weight cut. This is why I always prepared food for every occasion. On a friends birthday I even went to the night club with nakd bars in my clutch purse just so I didn’t make a poor choice. Food preparation is key to being successful with healthy weight loss and management. I usually leave my house everyday at 7am and get home from training around 9.30pm. So how is it I manage to prepare my breakfast , lunch and an immunity smoothie everyday? As soon as I get in from training I know what I need to do. The oven goes on, I throw in two chicken breasts , first seasoned with some garlic lemon honey and sea salt . I then throw some vegetables in a saucepan and begin to boil them . On a board I chop up cucumber avocado kiwi ginger mint and squeeze a lime , throw it all in a blender with spinach apple juice and coconut water. Blend. In a Tupperware throw spinach , pre made quinoa , tomato , beetroot and top with the cooked chicken. Another Tupperware has oats flaxseed chia seed dates banana almond butter blueberries and coconut milk. All that’s left to do is eat the vegetables and cooked chicken and wash down with a peppermint tea. It’s all about having a plan and following it and it doesn’t need to take all night. When I was a kid my mum taught me to make my own lunch for school. I actually remember my step dad was so lazy, he would pay me 50p to make his too. In life I think we have two main tasks, sleeping and eating . It’s crazy to think so many humans can’t be bothered to do one of these tasks properly. Don’t get me wrong , I haven’t written this article to have a go or be smart, I can genuinely empathise with how hard fast paced work in London can be. But with this article I’m hoping I can inspire you to push your efforts to be healthy with a few simple tips and tricks. So here are a few things I think may get you started.

Freezing meat and fish in individual portions to be defrosted daily. When you buy a packet of chicken, you aren’t going to eat it all at once . Cling film each piece and freeze .

Do your food shopping after a gym session, and have a list. I always feel inspired to eat better after I have trained. The hormones put you in the right mood to make positive choices. So when you see the beetroot in the fridge and think why did I buy this, you know you may aswell eat it, it’s there now.

Pre make accompanying carbs. Of course it’s better to eat fresh but who has the time to boil quinoa every night? That’s why all these pre cooked packets of rice and lentils are making such a killing. Just make it on the Sunday and add it to your salads through the week.

Lockable lunch boxes. Nothing puts you off pre packing a lunch more than when it leaks all over your bag.

Double your dinner and have the rest for lunch. Can backfire when hungry boyfriends come round and steal it.

Follow inspiring healthy profiles on Instagram. They pop up on your feed and encourage you to experiment with your courgette spiraliser. It also makes you take more pictures of your own healthy food giving you a motive to make something that looks impressively healthy.

Eat what you like and drink what you are not so keen on. I find it hard to chomp down spinach leaves with my lunch so I blend most of it into my smoothie. I like eating peppers and beetroot so I put it in my salads.

Lastly make sure you are making something you enjoy. If you don’t enjoy it then you are more likely to ditch it for the sandwich next door. When you are hungry you reach for high carb high sugar, but it’s not what you need and you just feel bloated and sick afterwards.

1)No cheating
Too many times when someone starts a diet (even with myself) you start with all the best intentions. You do a super healthy food shop, drink gallons of water and you feel great about yourself. Unfortunately the world is so full of temptations with the help of pretty advertisement. Im still dying to try the new magnums because their advertising was so strong. But we all know as soon as you slip off the band wagon, it’s a slippery slope from there.There are ways around this. Because high sugar junk is cheap to make and easy to sell , companies have more money to promote them. But if you invest some time into ways of eating tasty treats that are guilt free you may be pleasantly surprised! I’ve made things from pancakes, ice cream and cheesecakes all cheat free! All you need to do is find recipes that don’t contain a whole lump of butter and a mountain of refined sugar. Pancakes can be made with just a banana and an egg. Freeze chopped bananas and then blend with peanut butter and honey and you have ice cream! Cheesecakes can be made simply by blending nuts with fruit and a base made from dates and ground almonds. All becoming exciting now? There are endless recipes and possibilities , I spend far too long on Instagram and Pinterest drawling at delicious natural deserts. Of course these treats come with a little effort. So what if you are desperate for a quick fix and a snickers is calling your name? Never fear there are natural treats that can be found in most supermarkets. Nakd bars are amazing, and they are getting better. At around 50-75p a bar they can be an expensive hobby but it makes treat time limited,but more special. They are upping their game with new flavours such as Bakewell tart and choc mint (which tastes like an aero) . They also have started making nibbles which honestly are delicious! Strawberries and cream is my favourite. It feels like you are eating sweets. If you are a yoghurt lover like me , there are many new coconut milk based yogs and ice creams. Coyo do a variety of plain, vanilla and chocolate. All disgustingly good. If you are looking for an energy pick up try having nut butters on fruit. Meridian do three types , almond, cashew and peanut. Just chop up an apple or dip a banana in. It’s a Great pre work out snack as the fats in nuts are a good energy source. (You don’t always need carbs for energy). Last year my girlfriends went to Morocco and brought back a great treat idea. Chopped fruit and just a dusting of cinnamon . It’s weirdly addictive, after Muay Thai training every Saturday me and my boyfriend would be on the fruit and cinnamon. The best are oranges and pineapple. Once you cut out sugar , you will soon notice that things that may not have been so sweet suddenly become sweeter. I was eating 99% chocolate during my weight cut. It’s not for the faint hearted but once I was sugar free, I enjoyed it more than regular chocolate. It tastes so rich and creamy, I’d treat myself to 2 squares mid day for a pick up , and it’s actually an anti oxidant so it’s a treat with health benefits!

There are many ways to cheat without cheating. And there’s nothing more satisfying than having a cheeky treat that actually isn’t bad for you. Time to redefine the word treat.

Challenge training
A reason why many people don’t go to the gym is because there is a lack of motivation. If every gym visit I paid consisted of me deciding which piece of cardio equipment I was going to drag out 30 minutes on I too wouldn’t feel too inspired to go. My gym sessions vary. Some days I’ll be boxing, others wrestling, weights or cardio. But whatever I’m doing I feel a purpose in doing so. I’m not just ticking a box to say I’ve done my gym of the day, I don’t go to update my status and check myself in …Sofie Langsford is -at the gym #gettingfit. Some people do do that but I guarantee you they won’t last, there’s only so many times you can check into the gym before you even get bored of it, and your friends list number slowly detieriates.

So now you need to find motivation. This can happen inside and outside the gym. I’m going to start with outside.

So you are going for a run. How far are you aiming to go? Is there a hill you need to tackle? Is there a straight road you can sprint? All these challenges are motivation to pushing yourself that bit further. For instance , I live by a long steep hill. It’s an effort to get up it but I make sure I never stop or fail the climb. Many times I’ve got half way and wanted to stop, but the trigger in my head sets getting to the top as a challenge and I push to achieve it. If I didn’t set the challenge I would have lost interest and stopped.

Another thing you could do to try and increase entertainment along the run is stop at objects or obstacles you could use like gym equipment. Box jumps at a gym is no different to box jumps on a tree stump or step ups on a park bench. I found a park that has a variety of circuit stations. I call it my circuits park. The first is a tree stump I use for jumps, next is a bench for step ups , in the centre is a big set of steps I do 3 sets of lunges and 3 sets of squat jumps up. Last is a bike rack I do tricep dips pull ups and raised press ups on. After I do all that I’m knackered, it’s awesome.

When I go back to my home town park I do section sprints at the end as there’s a long road with evenly spaced lamp posts. I sprint one set then light jog the next. So all you have to do is look around, get creative and set yourself weird challenges. You get a sense of achievement for being so creative and doing a good work out.

Inside the gym its a bit easier. I personally enjoy taking on challenges that look impressive. I first took to the bosu board when doing these challenges as I’d seen some cool workouts on pin interest. I began with just jumping on the board and balancing. Hard at first but eventually I mastered it, what next? I then added a kettle bell swing, mastered, then squat, mastered then stepping on the board one footed, then raising my back leg, then high knee to single leg squat, adding a kettle bell, you get the jist, now . A lot of my Instagram feed is fitness food and training. When I watch the videos of someone doing challenges, beating personal bests and trying new equipment it makes me want to do the same. So be inspired, set yourself a challenge and push your limits.

Motivation and mind power
Being a fitness instructor aswell as an athlete I know the power of motivation . Whether you are being motivated or you are self motivated , it’s an essential ingredient to progression. If we are not motivated, we cannot push ourselves to a higher level. As an instructor or coach it’s my job to ignite the part of the brain that basically fires you up. I like to think of mine as a Duracell bunny. I store those bunnies for that extra push that makes me go beyond my comfort zone. It’s important to make yourself uncomfortable in order to be better. Doing my conditioning classes , I can look at the clock and see I have 10 minutes left. I feel exhausted, my muscles are giving up and my brain is beginning to refuse the work. That’s when I use the stored bunny energy. All of a sudden it’s like I’ve had an energy blast, a second wind they call it. You put your all in and at the end you are beyond exhausted, but you feel great. This is the power of the mind.

When you are at the front of a class instructing you see everyone. You see the pushers and you see the quitters. Some people just haven’t found their Duracell bunny. They cannot self motivate. This is where words of encouragement must come in and you see the participant suddenly ignite. It shows they had it in them to push beyond but they just cannot self motivate. If you know you are one of those people here are some exercises to help you become a self motivated person.

1) plan your workouts with set reps, targets and goals. This helps you carry out the desired work out, and not completing it leads to a feeling of failure.

When faced with the winter months, it’s our prime time for spreading endless coughs colds and headaches to each other. There are a few things you can do to avoid it. Drink lots of water, eating your vegetables , washing hands after being on the tube , don’t be on the tube.
Sometimes it’s just inevitable.

So how do you deal with fitness when you are sick?

This is when you really need to know your body. Now some people will take sickness of any sort as a red light to training . But these people need to really ask themselves, is the headache because of dehydration? Staring at a computer too long? In moments like these where I too feel no motivation to train, almost certainly the best thing you can do is train. It gives you an energy boost, gives you a good hormone blast and encourages you to sweat out toxins and drink more water. So if it’s a so so feeling, get to the gym.

Then there’s the feeling of body exhaustion. You feel weak , your stressed. You have lost your appetite and just can think of nothing worse than being out in the public world for a second longer. This could be either just tiredness or your immune system is low. It’s probably best to stay away from the gym incase u come in contact with another sick person and end up getting really sick yourself. Try instead to have a light jog in fresh air then having a nutrient dense meal and an early night. And of course lots of water. And then there is the full on sickness . You haven’t drunk the night before but you feel hungover, like you could puke any second, like ur head has been in a vice all night, and you are on fire. This is the point where you give your body a rest. It’s obviously fighting something and using up energy to train your body at the same time won’t speed up the process. Drink water , stay warm and sleep.